Microvesicles are shed by eukaryotic cells, or budded off of the plasma membrane, to the exterior of the cell. These membrane vesicles are heterogeneous in size with diameters ranging from about 10 nm to about 5000 nm. The small microvesicles (approximately 10 to 1000 nm, and more often 30 to 200 nm in diameter) that are released by exocytosis of intracellular multivesicular bodies are sometimes referred to in the art as “microvesicles.” Microvesicles contain nucleic acids that have been used as biomarkers for medical diagnosis, prognosis and therapy evaluation.
There exists a need to further investigate the characteristics of microvesicles and to exploit the capabilities of these microvesicles in a variety of therapeutic and prophylactic indications.